India rules out opening its market to US ethanol in trade negotiations.

The Indian government stated on Thursday (6) that it will not make concessions regarding the import of ethanol from the United States in negotiations for a trade agreement between the two countries. In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Commerce highlighted that the national biofuel policy will continue to prioritize domestic production to meet the mandatory ethanol blending program in gasoline. Currently, India requires a 20% ethanol blend in gasoline, and existing regulations only allow the use of domestically produced ethanol for this purpose. "Therefore, any suggestion of a policy change to allow large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the US is misleading," the ministry stated. The statement comes amid negotiations between New Delhi and Washington for a bilateral trade agreement. Last month, a senior US government official told Reuters that an understanding between the two countries could be reached in the next three to four months.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.